Wow, a most excellent T-day con is in the bag!
What a logistical achievement! What a great crop of games we had! What
fun!

A recap:
Friday 19 Nov 98.
The Makowsky's showed up at the house a little earlier than expected. Hey
no problem. We got everything set up for the kids and got settled in. Bob demo'd
TOCA racing which I liked (touring cars) I think we did a little shogo plus the
obligatory show and tell of new computer stuff. They left the next morning for
points south and North.

Tuesday 23 Nov 98.
Kurt showed up around 2000 and we commenced setup. Weasellair now began an
epic CD burning session which went on throughout the con. We mostly burnt some
music mixes I put together, including the new Röt Hafen soundtrack (double
CD mix that I slaved over for two weeks) as well as the rare Where Eagles Dare
and Battle of Britain soundtracks committee to CD from LP for posterity. As
far as games went Kurt brought along Half Life. What a most excellent game. I
also demoed European Air War, Total Air War, and Microsoft Combat Flight
Simulator .

Wed 24 Nov 98.
Spent the morning putzing around setting everything up. A run to Staples to
get several dozen CD-Rs was made. The Makowsky's returned in the afternoon and
Loscon began in earnest. We particularly enjoyed a few games of Shogo
multiplayer. This is a most excellent game. Halflife Multiplayer saw lots of
action also since this is the platform for the eagerly awaited Team Fortress II.

Thursday. 25 Nov 98 The Makowsky's went to their Moms for T-day,
we went to our Mom's with Kurt. After the obligatory excellent dinners we came
back and cooked up a turkey for sandwiches over the weekend (was a great idea).
The rest of the evening was spent bouncing between Shogo and Half Life. (BTW
everyone agrees that Half Life Single Player is incredible immersive, scary, and
well put together!)

Friday 26 Nov 98.
The big trip of the day was to the Bradley Air Museum. A great time was had
by all, especially the kids. That place is really a must see. Returned by around
1500 and got down to business. Kurt prepared the Action Quake Server
configs for the night's action. Bob and I flew some coop Longbow 2 missions as
pilot/gunner always a great experience. Rob, Ze, DoKtOr ChUd, Mike and Lawman
joined us. We alternated the evening between Shogo (which everyone liked) and
Action Quake 2, (which is now the default game). We had 8 or 9 players going
most of the evening. I think everyone made a concerted effort to keep The
Weasel in check but he still managed to slip away at times. I think we finished
out the night with some late night Half Life.

Saturday 27 Nov 98.
After wake up we took all the kids (there were three with us all weekend
plus three more joined us ) to the park. Was not to get outside even if Kurt was
severely burned by the light. Oh well. We made our obligatory trip to EB and
COMPUSA. After some comparative shopping Kurt bought the new Asteroids, Bob
bought Half Life, and I bought Janes F15 and A10 Cuba. (from the bargain bin
even, what a gem!) We returned and set up for more action. There was another
Longbow hop. Then we settled in for Shogo, Half Life and of course, the main
event, AQ2. We had six players going all evening.

Sunday 28 Nov 98.
More of the same, Shogo AQ2, Half Life. Flying during the day etc etc. by
this point Fatigue was a real factor though responsibilities were rotated enough
to offer the chance for naps or an hour two extra in the morning. (kids you
know). Having secured a babysitter, we went to La Vina for dinner which was
nice. Afterwards we cracked open the six pack of rare RC Colas. Mike joined us
and we started a long Action Quake 2 session with everyone involved. Again maybe
5 or 6 of us going until past midnight.

Monday 29 Nov 98.
Final CD burns break down and goodbyes. A great con comes to an end. 2.

Games played:
Action Quake 2
Half Life (couldn't get this running on Nat133 or Los180) so we kept it to
4 or 5 stations)
Shogo (same as above)
Longbow 2
Asteroids
A10 Cuba
Plus others....

Logistics.
These things are real logistical marvels. Everyone was fed watered and
bathed pretty much on schedule with 5 adults and 3 kids living at the house for
the whole time plus another 2 sleeping over occasionally.
Pizzas, Indian food & turkeys were consumed. (Cudos to Natalie and
Julie who kept the herd moving) 40+ cd's burned. How many cases ofd
sodas did we go through? Let's see Kurts specialty RB, Sasparilla cream
collection. A case of Bawls. Two cases of specialty colas and RVbs that I picked
up from Pop Soda dot com. A case of Regular RCs, plus the SIX of RC drafts. Also
a shitload of coffee!

Game play:
As usual the level of game play remains unbelievably high. It's goddamn
dangerous out there on those levels! Nat came up with the great idea to have a
mid level skill game going so it gave a lot of people a chance to really enjoy
the game without being killed all the time (Bob, Kurt, Los and Chud sat out).
This was enjoyed immensely.

Conclusion.
Well it's was arguably the best con ever. And it was a test of the
viability of having a weeklong Loscon in a rented house somewhere.

Some
thoughts:
1. After about three days we need a down day to sleep!
2. I though the kids were manageable. (Not all may agree) Though it meant
no deathmatch music playing in the background at 11pm. I like having them
because it means everyone can participate.
3. A planned external trip was a great idea.
4. technically for anything other than Quake, Nat 133 and Los180 are
starting to show their age. Time to do some upgrades or get some of these other
machines over (Chud300) + (Ze300).

Anyway, that's all for now., I'd like to thank everyone involved but
especially my lovely wife Natalie. We might have a little get together after
CHristmas since Greg will be in town.